(1) Field of the Invention
The invention pertains generally to entertainment devices and systems. More specifically, the invention relates to a user-profile server and related method for providing a user-tailored entertainment experience across different entertainment devices and systems.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Travel is popular both as a recreational activity such as tourism and as a corporate activity such as business trips. One problem with travelling for either pleasure or business, however, is what to do during all the inevitable “downtime” that is associated with travelling. Examples of typical downtown include periods waiting for departure at airports, bus terminals, ferry docks, or train stations; waiting for arrival while on an airplane, car, bus, boat, or train; waiting at transfer points for a next departure; killing time during layovers and overnight stays; waiting for weather to permit travel; waiting for tours to start; waiting for meetings to start; and recovering from jet lag, time zone changes, illness, food differences, and the general fatigue of coping in a new environment.
Travelers often carry portable electronic devices that, in addition to other functions, provide for personal entertainment during downtime. Examples include mobile phones; personal music players; portable video players; digital cameras; and laptop, notebook, and tablet computers; etc. Additionally, to keep travelers occupied and provide entertainment during waiting periods, electronic entertainment devices and systems are provided in guest-facing locations throughout the travel and hospitality industries. Examples include public televisions; Internet kiosks and WiFi access points; personal music and video players mounted in seatbacks on airplanes, busses, and trains; video games consoles; high definition audio-visual devices in hotel rooms and ocean liner cabins; etc.
One problem with providing entertainment devices and systems for travelers is there is a lack of information regarding content that is desired by travelers at any given time. Rankings may help property owners guess the desired content, but, with the increasing number of global travelers, no matter what content is available at a certain location, there is bound to be at least one user who wants more or different options. Another issue is the disjoint nature of all available entertainment content. Content available at a first location such as on an airplane is often different than that available at a second location such as a foreign hotel, and both may not be content a user enjoys. Although in certain situations it may be enjoyable for a traveler to be exposed to new or different content, travelers generally prefer familiar content or at least content in an understandable language, which may or may not be available when visiting a foreign country. Although most international hotels and resorts try to provide at least some content in English and other widely spoken languages to cover the majority of users, at best, this solution only satisfies the travelers who fall into the targeted “majority”. For this reason, guests often rely on content they have brought with them on personal devices.
In order to meet increasing guest expectations, hospitality locations try to provide a wide range of multimedia entertainment content such as specialized channels in a variety of different languages from a plurality of content sources. Purchasing content from local providers including cable/phone companies is one option. Satellite and Internet distribution are other options. Additionally, some content such as feature movies may be stored on hard drives or other storage media and mailed to hotels or other locations in advance. However, for an international destination with a variety of guests, local content providers may not provide the desired content in the required languages. The same drawback may also apply to satellite providers available in the region, and satellite reception requires additional hardware such as the installation of one or more satellite dishes and receivers for each desired channel. News broadcasts, weather, special reports, sports events, and financial information are examples of content that is best provided in real-time. Internet distribution solves some of these problems; however, the costs of purchasing bandwidth sufficient to stream all possible content in real-time often make this option cost prohibitive.